Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $16.93

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.93 and last traded at $17.03, with a volume of 5869728 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. SVB Leerink cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.35, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.65 and a 200-day moving average of $21.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth $16,365,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth $145,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth $492,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 258.0% during the 1st quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 13,803 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.